James Crumbley Faces 15 Years in Prison After Manslaughter Verdict

A Michigan jury on Thursday found James Crumbley—the father of the shooter who in November 2021 carried out the state's deadliest school shooting in history—guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

Crumbley, who has been detained since December 2021, now faces up to 15 years in prison. His wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was found guilty of identical charges last month and also faces 15 years behind bars.

The pair's son, Ethan, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in December for killing four of his classmates and wounding seven others at Oxford High School in Oxford Township, Michigan. He was 15 at the time.

James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted of failing to prevent their son from carrying out the shooting.

The Context

Ethan Crumbley pleaded guilty to 24 charges stemming from the shooting, which took the lives of Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Tate Myre, 16, Justin Shilling, 17, and Hana St. Juliana, 14. Among the charges included first-degree premeditated murder and terrorism causing death. Michigan does not have the death penalty, meaning Ethan's sentence was the harshest possible that a judge could order.

James and Jennifer Crumbley are the first parents in the United States to be held criminally responsible for a mass shooting carried out by their child. At the core of the charges against both parents were journal entries written by their son in the days leading up to the shooting, including one where Ethan wrote about needing to find a gun that his father had hidden. The 9mm weapon, which was used in the shooting, was purchased by James as a gift for his son.

It is unclear if James and Jennifer Crumbley saw the journal entries by their son before the shooting on November 30, 2021, but the parents were called into school on the morning of the killings after a teacher saw violent drawings created by Ethan. The drawings included an object that resembled the handgun purchased by James, and included phrases like "help me" and "blood everywhere."

What We Know

Families of the four victims of the Oxford High School shooting released a joint statement following James' verdict on Thursday, which said, "While we are grateful that James and Jennifer Crumbley were found guilty, we want to be very clear that this is just the beginning of our quest for justice and true accountability."

"There is so much more that needs to be done to ensure other families in Michigan and across the country don't experience the pain that we feel and we will not stop until real change is made," the statement read, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald also issued a statement Thursday evening, saying that the guilty verdict "does not bring back their children, but it does mark a moment in accountability."

"These parents could have prevented this tragedy ... with just the smallest of efforts," McDonald added. "We will not solve gun violence with these three prosecutions. I refuse to take a victory lap with these prosecutions. It will not bring back these kids. We have a lot more work to do."

Views

James Crumbley's defense lawyer, Mariell Lehman, had stressed the argument during the trial that there was no evidence that the defendant was aware of what his son was planning until it was too late to intervene.

"You heard no testimony, and you saw no evidence, that James had any knowledge that his son was a danger to anyone," Lehman told the jury.

The defense team also only called on one witness during the trial. James' sister, Karen Crumbley, testified that she had no reason to be concerned about her nephew until the day of the shooting.

During Ethan Crumbley's trial, investigators revealed text messages and journal entries written by the shooter that indicated that he had asked his parents for help with his mental health but was not given assistance. Those messages were also displayed to the jury during Jennifer Crumbley's trial.

Lehman's law firm said in a statement to Newsweek on Friday that the defense maintains that James Crumbley "did not know that his son could or would harm anyone or that he had obtained the means to do so."

"James feels terrible about what happened that day to Hana St. Juliana, Madisyn Baldwin, Tate Myre, Justin Shilling, and the many others affected," the statement continued. "We are obviously disappointed with the outcome and also understand that the jury had a very difficult task in front of them."

What's Next?

James and Jennifer Crumbley are scheduled to be sentenced on April 9.

Update 03/15/24, 5:44 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.